Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction, I do not claim any rights to any of the characters or concepts created or owned by Viz Video or Rumiko Takahashi. This is just the work of one fan to the others. The only characters or concepts that I claim are the ones I created or introduced. That said, I bring you:
For Love and Money, the War of the Horse. A Y3 story.
Chapter 13: The curtain crashes down.
Ranma and Herb exchanged a look even as Prince Herb assessed Ranma. He had not seen any movement from the foreign martial artist towards the device she still held. And Ranma had seemed just as surprised as he had been at the explosions. Regardless of how it seemed, it was unlikely that Ranma had been directly responsible. Plus, there was little for her to gain by setting off the devices at that precise moment.
The world seemed to pause for a moment, then two, as the explosions died off and silence filled the air. Whatever sense of relief that the silence might have brought was all too short lived, though, as the mountain seemed to let out a shudder before a series of loud cracks filled the air, and a wave of dust proceeded the debris that began to fall from the ceiling.
Ranma and Rai Zur's eyes met for a moment before a large rock fell and flattened her cage.
Ranma didn't have more than a moment to process that before she found herself moving as she dodged falling rocks, and shoving Herb's men towards the tunnels that would get them out of this chamber. Regardless of what had happened, she had never wanted to cause the wholesale slaughter of Herb and his men. She glanced towards where the various chests were and cursed under her breath. The timing had been too perfect, whoever had set off the charges had to have been watching. They had seen how things were going, and acted.
They had made sure that Rai Zur would not be able to talk.
Ranma grit her teeth as she grabbed one of the men and slung him in the correct direction before her eyes met Herb's once again, and when Herb started to move towards one of the chests, that is where Ranma headed as well.
There could only be two things that Herb would try to recover from his possessions, at least that is what Ranma had figured. The ladle and whatever it was that would undo the lock on the curse. They were bound to be priceless treasures, things that could not be replaced. And they were the one hope that Ranma currently had of being able to reclaim his birth form. She had to make sure that when she left this place, that she had both of the artifacts if possible, or at least the one that undid the lock on her curse. Anything else was secondary to that.
Herb and Ranma moved towards a common point, even as both of the martial artists did their best to get the men of Prince Herb out of the immediate danger zone. Ranma had made sure that the entire structure would collapse inward, if the charges had all gone off as she had planned. That meant that this chamber, and the ones above and below it would be the first to collapse. The smaller tunnels would be a bit harder to predict, but there was still a chance that most of them could make it out of here, as long as they acted quickly and didn't allow themselves to become frozen with fear or indecision.
Just like any other life or death struggle, really.
Herb had seen Mint and Lime as they had hesitated, and with a sharp glance and an imperious movement of his head he had sent his two retainers to make sure that as many of the other men escaped as possible. It was one less thing that Herb would have to focus on, even as he and Ranma dodged and weaved their way towards the chests near where Rai Zur had just been flattened. The rumbling from the upper floors had grown ever louder, as more and more of the structure had collapsed and added its own weight to the damaged floors beneath it.
It was only a matter of time until the entire structure collapsed, along with the rest of the mountain.
Ranma faded back for a moment as she dodged another piece of stone as it plummeted from above, and in that moment Herb surged ahead of her and ever closer to the ornate chest that was his goal. A particularly loud crack from above drew her attention, as more of the ceiling broke free and started its fall towards the pair of martial artists. It was evident almost instantly to Ranma that she had ended up clear of where it would hit, but the same could not be said for the Master of the Musk.
Ranma reached towards Herb, but was not able to reach him before the stones crashed down, and she heard the snap of bones as they broke, and Herb fell with his leg pinned under the rubble. Ranma didn't hesitate as she rushed to the side of the fallen Musk and started to quickly move the rubble. She barely spared a glance towards what had been her prize just moments ago, even as the floor started to sway under the two of them. They both heard the crack as the floor started to give, and a section in the middle collapsed near where the chest was located.
Herb tried to push Ranma away, but the diminutive redhead would not be dissuaded as she diligently worked to free the Musk from the rubble. Even when another shard of the ceiling plunged towards them, Ranma didn't stop even as it gouged a bloody trail down the back of her right shoulder. Ranma didn't stop until she had shifted the final piece away, then another loud booming crack from above drew both of their attention as another piece fell and smashed the chest, and sent two items flying in opposite directions. One was the ladle, and the other seemed to be a kettle of some sort.
And that was when the floor started to tilt towards the hole, and sent everything and everyone sliding towards the gaping darkness below.
Ranma found herself facing a quandary. She could recover the kettle, but there was no way that she could save Herb as he slid towards the hole with the ladle near at hand. She cursed herself under her breath as she did what her principles dictated, and grabbed the Prince of the Herb and managed to get the ladle to safety as well even as she watched the kettle plummet into the darkness.
As Ranma pulled Herb up onto a relatively stable piece of the floor, she looked him over. There was no way he would be able to walk with his leg broken as it was, and she was not sure she would be able to carry the larger man with the shape her shoulder was in at the moment. She met the pained gaze of Herb, who closed his eyes for a moment, then looked at Ranma.
"Use the Ladle on me. My female form is much smaller, and I think we will be able to manage to escape this together. Either that, or leave me." The Musk Prince said through gritted teeth.
Ranma didn't hesitate as she pulled out her canteen and filled the ladle with it before she poured it over Herb's head. The suddenly smaller and much lighter woman sighed as she let Ranma help her up, then gawked a bit as Ranma slung her over her good shoulder like she was a sack of potatoes. Herb suddenly found herself in possession of the Ladle of Locking as Ranma started to move with a fixed and determined look on her face.
They would make it out of here, and she would make it home regardless of what it took. That was the only thought that Ranma would let fill her head as she pushed herself as hard as she could. At least Herb had the clarity to remain as still as possible, otherwise this would have been impossible.
Instead, it would just be almost impossible.
Mint and Lime waited outside the collapsing temple with those of their men that they had been able to save, and watched the entrance for their Master. Only their unwavering loyalty to their Master had kept the two from running back into the collapsing ruin to find their Master, only the confident knowledge that it would take more than a falling mountain to stop the Lord of the Musk had stilled them.
Only the certain knowledge that Prince Herb would have personally killed them both if they had disobeyed had kept them rooted in place.
With one last, great gout of dust, the ruins were no more. The assembled men held their breath as two surprisingly small figures stumbled out of the settling cloud of dust. Both of them were battered and bleeding, one of them leaned heavily on the other for support even as they made it finally clear of the cloud of dust, and collapsed on the ground.
"This…. Will not be forgotten, Ranma…" Princess Herb gasped out.
Ranma just nodded as she laid on the ground, and let the darkness take her at last.
When Ranma woke up next, she found herself looking up at a ceiling she did not recognize. The tilework was exquisite, and showed clearly a dragon and a man in the armor of the Musk engaged in combat of some sort. She slowly let her gaze sweep around the room, and stopped as she saw the Amazon that sat next to her bedside. She was a tall woman, with hair that was done up in an elaborate bun. What made her stand out was the fact that her hair seemed to be in streaks of multiple colors, with one eye being brown and the other blue. The Amazon closed the book she had been reading as she regarded Ranma critically.
"I am glad to see that you have woken up at last, Honored One. I am Tai Dai, and I am here as a representative of the new Council of Elders. Can you sit up and drink some water? If so, then we will see about tending to your bandages, as well." Tai Dai said as she helped Ranma sit up with careful, steady movements. Ranma carefully and slowly drank the water that she had been offered, and obediently did as she was told as Tai Dai worked on her.
"You have been asleep for close to five days, Honored One. The Musk sent people to the village to request help, even as they made their way towards their domain. Luckily, I know how to drive." The Amazon said with a tilt of her head as she laid Ranma back down. "That is more than can be said for the Musk who wrecked your truck trying to get back to the village."
"Herb?" Ranma croaked out before she accepted another glass of water and drank it just as slowly as the last.
"The Prince, or Princess, of the Musk will be fine. Mostly thanks to you, it would seem. Prince Herb would like to see you, once you are able to. There is much that must be discussed, I think." Tai Dai said before she lifted a bowl that contained a foul-smelling liquid to Ranma's lips. "But for now, you need to rest a bit more. There will be time to deal with all of this tomorrow."
Ranma obediently drank the medicine, and let herself slip back into sleep.
The next day, Ranma made her way to the chamber where Herb waited with Tai Dai on one side, and Mint on the other. She knew that she would not be up to full speed for a while yet, but it wasn't like she was an invalid, after all. Still, what she had gathered from Tai Dai had been a lot to think about. Tai Dai was the head of the new Council of Elders, and could not have been any older than Ranma herself. She also could not help but notice that the Amazon had avoided cold water in the same way that most people who had gained a curse from Jusenkyo did if they did not want to have to deal with it. It certainly painted a picture of how things must be in the Village, and it was not a situation that Ranma figured would be sustainable without some outside help.
For now, though, she had to face the dragon.
Ranma bowed deeply before the reclined form of Herb as she awaited the redhead on her dais. Ranma glanced at the form of the Prince of the Musk, and could see that her leg had been splinted, as well as the various bandages that peaked out from under her clothing.
"Welcome to the domain of the Musk, Ranma Tendo. I am glad to see you on your feet once again. Now, raise your eyes. You are my guest here." Herb said as she regarded Ranma.
"Thank you, Prince Herb. I am grateful for your hospitality, truly. I… just wish it had not been necessary to lock you in your cursed form as well. Now that the kettle is gone, is there any way we can break the lock?" Ranma asked as she shifted a little.
"There is no known way besides the Kettle, no. Why do you think it is gone, though?" Herb asked as she regarded Ranma intently.
"It was surely destroyed when the mountain collapsed." Ranma stated, but then hesitated. "You don't seem so sure of that, though."
"It was buried, yes, but artifacts such as that are not so easily destroyed. Though, since there is a mountain of rubble on top of it, it is likely lost to us." Herb said with a sigh. "And, if this form is the price I must pay for not having kept a better watch over my people and my lands, then it is a small price indeed."
Ranma thought about what she wanted to say, as she looked at Tai Dai and Herb. She nodded her head before she looked askance at Herb, who arched an eyebrow and nodded before she looked at the rest of the attendants in the room. "Leave us. Lime, Mint, you may stay. And if you would join us, Tai Dai, I think that there is something that Ranma wishes to discuss with us."
Ranma nodded and waited for the room to clear before she settled herself in a chair, with Tai Dai doing the same after she looked to Herb for permission. "If you don't mind, Prince Herb? I think that none of us have the time or the energy to dance around things right now."
Herb looked at Ranma and nodded as her tea was refilled by Mint. "We do not, so speak your mind."
Ranma nodded and looked at Tai Dai. "Do you have the authority to speak on behalf of the Council?"
Tai Dai paused for a moment, then sat up and nodded. "I do. Besides my knowledge of medicine, I am one of the few who sit on the Council now who are directly related to one of the previous Elders. That is why I was sent."
Ranma sighed and nodded as she accepted a cup of tea from Lime. "We need to make plans for what we are going to do, going forward. As things stand right now, we can't assume that this can't or won't happen again. The Amazon's need time to rebuild, and I am hoping that the Musk will help them. The Musk have even less contact with the outside world than the Amazon's do, and that makes it harder to guard from threats from outside the region.". Ranma stood and looked at the other two. "What has happened here can never be allowed to happen again."
"If the Musk help the Amazon's, then what do we stand to gain?" Herb asked casually.
"The aid and assistance of the Teahouse, along with Tendo Enterprises. We will act as your bridge with the outer world, and a buffer between you and Beijing." Ranma said with certainty.
Herb narrowed her eyes as she regarded Ranma intently. "And you can promise this?"
"I can. Now, let's discuss the basics, and we can work out the details later." Ranma said as she got settled in.
It was likely going to be a long day.
That night, Ranma laid in her bed after she had sent a pair of messages to Douglas to relay back to Japan. As much as she would have preferred to call directly, it just was not practical right now. At least Douglas would let Nabiki know what was going on…. And the unfortunate news.
Just a few more things to take care of here. Another few weeks or a month at most, she hoped, and then home.
To her family.